


Fight or Flight

by red_jaebyrd



Series: Whumptober 2020 [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Gen, Hurt Damian Wayne, Hurt Dick Grayson, Hurt Jason Todd, POV Bruce Wayne, Whumptober 2020, missing moment at the end of Batman 16, prompt: hanging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:01:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26753242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/red_jaebyrd/pseuds/red_jaebyrd
Summary: Bruce told them to leave Gotham. Leave the masks behind, or hell, put the masks on and go protect a different city, just stay out of Gotham for five days. But when have his boys ever willingly walked away from a fight?
Relationships: Bruce Wanye & Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne & Jason Todd
Series: Whumptober 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948573
Comments: 8
Kudos: 112





	Fight or Flight

**Author's Note:**

> tw: near asphyxiation, near suffocation, survived hanging.

Gotham Girl wouldn’t stop screaming. Bruce followed her line of sight to the three prone figures hanging in the Cave. All the air left his lungs as Bruce took in the scene before eyes. His sons were beaten unconscious and hanging by their necks. The words ‘I AM BANE’ written on their bare chests with what Bruce hoped was _not_ their blood.

“No!” Bruce roared, scaring a colony of bats.

He quickly ran to Dick, Jason and Damian and checked for pulses. They were all alive, but barely. Damian’ good eye blinked open at the contact. The other eye was red and swollen shut, blood dripping from his nose and busted lip. Bruce’s heart sank as his eyes locked with his youngest boy’s face. Fear filled the teen’s eyes, his gaze remaining on Bruce as he clutched at the rope around his neck. Tears were pouring down Damian’s face as he struggled to breathe and stay conscious. He was quickly losing the fight. Both Dick and Jason remained motionless.

Without a word, both Bruce and Alfred worked quickly to free Damian first. Once freed, Alfred carried him to the medbay and laid him gently on a gurney. Damian’s wheezing and choked sobs echoed in the Cave.

“My dear boy, you’re safe now,” Alfred comforted.

“Neck…hurts,” Damian croaked, tears still falling down his cheeks.

“I will give you something for the pain before I check you over,” Alfred replied, promptly fitting Damian with an oxygen mask. The effort to keep his voice calm and even was not lost on Bruce.

Bruce continued to help free Jason as he looked the worse for wear between him and Dick. Deep red bruises were peppered along Jason’s bare torso. Both his hands were swollen and blooded especially along the knuckles.

Bruce was able to get Jason free from the ropes and carried him gently to the medbay setting him down gingerly on a gurney. He removed Jason’s helmet and brushed his hand along Jason’s cheek. Instantly Jason’s eyes fluttered opened and he gasped for air.

Jason didn’t say anything; instead he swung a weak punch at Bruce’s face.

“Jaylad, it’s me. It’s Bruce. You’re _safe_ ,” Bruce said gently, holding Jason’s wrists to avoid getting hit. Jason’s eyes were glazed over, staring at Bruce without seeing; his fight response automatic and unrelenting. Bruce’s words fell on deaf ears.

Without a word to Bruce, Alfred quickly administered a sedative into Jason’s thigh. Jason whimpered and his body slowly stilled. His eyes briefly flickered to Bruce before they closed. Bruce put an oxygen mask on Jason to help him breath, and then he heard it.

“Ack.”

It was the strangled sound of his eldest regaining consciousness and trying to breathe.

Both men rushed over to Dick as he thrashed and clawed at the rope around his neck. Bruce lifted Dick so Alfred could remove the rope around Dick’s neck. Dick continued to cough and gasp for breath as Bruce lowered him to the ground.

“’m sorry, Bruce...,” Dick whispered hoarsely, tears filling his eyes. Deep red bruises lined his cheeks and jaw.

“Shh, Dick, don’t talk,” Bruce soothed.

“We-we were…gonna go…after him, after Bane…but…,” Dick continued, each word dragged out painfully between breaths. “…he was waiting…for us. It was…an ambush.”

“We’ll talk later. We need to look at your neck and you need oxygen.”

Dick reached up to touch his neck and winced. The rope had rubbed it raw.

“D-Damian, is Damian…,” Dick asked, frantically looking around the Cave. “…and Jason? He got it the worst.”

“Shh. They’re resting. Alfred is tending to them.”

“I’m so sorry, Bruce.” Dick apologized again and then passed out.

“ _Dick_ ,” Bruce panicked. He immediately placed two fingers at Dick’s neck and felt the steady rhythm of a pulse.

He carried Dick to the medbay and set him on a gurney between Jason and Damian. Alfred promptly fitted an oxygen mask over Dick’s face and checked over his vitals.

He knew this would happen if they stayed in Gotham, that’s why he told them to leave. Bruce practically begged them to pack up and leave town. But of course, they didn’t listen. Of course they were going to stay and stand their ground against Bane. There was no way that his sons would willingly walk away from any conflict. They were too loyal to him, to Gotham, and to his mission to leave this fight for Bruce alone.

It took some time, but both Bruce and Alfred were able to clean the wounds on each of the boys’ necks and various other contusions on their bodies. While Dick and Jason slept through it, Damian kept waking up despite the heavy painkillers but settled once Alfred the cat curled up by his hip.

When they were done, Bruce collapsed in a chair next to Damian’s bed and took his small hand in his. The adrenaline was wearing off and he could feel the soreness in his bones seep in. The relief of his boys’ survival greatly outweighed the anger Bruce felt at their clear defiance of his order. The fear of losing them tonight nearly did him in. This couldn’t happen again. The only way to guarantee his sons’ safety was to make sure they were far away from Gotham; because if they stayed they’d continue the fight and Bane wouldn’t hesitate to take his sons away from him for good.

The thought of having to bury another one of his boys was too much for Bruce. He’d already lost so much over the years and while he did get two of his sons back, it wasn’t a gamble he was willing to risk. Not with Bane out there wreaking havoc in Gotham. He knew his boys could handle themselves out there, but this latest confrontation with Bane was way out of their scope. Even without the venom, Bane was still a formidable fighter. The thought of losing any of them to him or any other maniac remained a constant fear of his. Bruce couldn’t bear that pain or loss again, especially so soon after losing Tim.

No, he needed to be proactive and intentional with their safety. His boys were going to hate him, but if it kept them safe and away from danger, away from Bane, he’d endure their anger toward him.

“What shall we do now, Sir?” Alfred asked, gently carding his hand through Damian’s hair.

“We stabilize their condition. Keep them sedated, and send them somewhere safe for them to recover.”

“And where is that, Sir?”

There was only one place on Earth that Bruce trusted his sons would be safe and far away from danger.

“The Fortress of Solitude.”

**Author's Note:**

> Batman 16 is one of my favorite issues. I loved seeing Dick, Damian, Duke and Jason together with Bruce at BatBurger; interacting and just being brothers. It needed Tim, but he was off being held prisoner by Mr Oz and trying not to get killed by his evil older self.


End file.
